La Vida

Sexism in writing
Rewrite the following sentences to correct the sexist bias.
1. When a plumber is finished working, he shouln’t leave a mess for thethe customer.
2. A hair stylist should always keep her station clean.
3. A good secretary keeps her boss organized.
4. A flight attendant shouldsure her uniform is clean and pressed. Edly should serve his full jail term.
5. You could call a lawyer and find out what he thinks.
6. A socialworker visits her clients regularly to chek their progress.
7. A criminal who breaks the law repeatedly should serve his full jail term.
8. A reportermust check his facts carefully.
9. An archeologist in the field should take care of his digging tools.
10. If your doctor doesn’t give you an itemizedbill, ask him for one.

You have just learned how to avoid the sexist use of indefinite pronouns. Sexism in writing is even worse when a singular pronounautomatically assigns the male sex to professionals.

Every police officer should wear his badge at all times.
The use of his in the above sentencessuggest that every police officer is a man, which is both sexist an untrue. On the other hand, using HIS or HER is correct but clumsy. Another solutions is tomake the whole sentence plural, using the neutral pronoun THEIR. The possible nonsexist choices follow.
INCORRECT: Every police officer should wear his badgeat all times.
CORRET: Every police officer should wear his or her badge at all times.
CORRECT: police officers should wear their badges at all times.